The‘ exercise causes weight loss’ myth 89 on average 114 calories. This gave an extra burn of only 105 calories with the gym workout! This becomes even more important when we look at‘ exercise overcompensation eating’ in the next section. The next fact is that a persisting elevation of RMR is more a result of exercise intensity rather than of duration. Yet, we know that the exercise that causes the most weight loss is characterized by lower intensity for longer duration – brisk walking and hydrotherapy( swimming pool exercise which takes the weight off lower limb joints) being the best. Hydrotherapy is particularly good for people with mobility problems such as arthritis of the knees and lymphatic swelling of the legs. Those that clearly demonstrate extended levels of post-exercise RMR elevation are elite or‘ endurance-trained’ athletes – and of course it was this group that was originally studied, giving rise to this belief. Unfortunately, for the rest of the population, especially those of us trying to lose weight, the effect of increasing RMR cannot be considered to be of significance. 12 So you can see that because we apply 70 % of our energy expenditure just to running our body, as we adjust our energy expenditure through physical activity, we are starting with what is a relatively minor factor in the weight-loss-energy-intake / expenditure equation. The next consideration is – just how much exercise do we need to do to burn off excess calories? It’ s more than you think Research shows that on average we are eating around 500 calories a day more than people did twenty years ago. This is about two and a half 12 For a comprehensive review of this subject read‘ Exercise, Macronutrient Balance, and Body Weight Regulation’ by CI Melby and JO Hill in Sports Science Exchange Vol12:1:1-7, 1999.